Hey everyone,

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First, a huge thank you to everyone I met at the Maryland Conference last week! And, huge shoutout to Corrin for helping me with my first time exhibiting. As a fake extrovert this was both thrilling and terrifying.

I had a bunch of inspiring conversations about objective writing at the conference (yes, I’m apparently not the only person who gets excited about this), and I realized something: a lot of us are haunted by the same ghost, low-level cognitive rigor. 👻

You know the ones:

“Students will identify...”

“Students will define...”

There’s nothing wrong with these, we need foundational objectives. But if that’s where the learning ends, your students are stuck in Bloom’s Basement.

The Ladder Out of the Grave

I’ll spare you the full Bloom’s Taxonomy lecture (the 2001 revision is the one you want, with learner action verbs), but here’s the key point:

Learning isn’t a climb, it’s a motion. (I ran out of formatting options to emphasize this, boo)

Students move up and down the levels of rigor as they grow.

Let me reinforce this with a short tangent.

I once applied for a job leading workforce development in an industry where — let’s just say — the average individual still used AOL (change is scary to them). I built this meme into my presentation for them to make a point about scaffolding rigor:

No one laughed. (Apparently there was a 25-year humor gap between us.)

But I got the job, because the point stuck: You can’t jump straight from remembering to creating. There are four levels of cognitive rigor between, and learners need a scaffold to reach the top.

How National Standards Trick AND Treat You

National Core Arts Anchor Standard #5:

Develop and refine artistic work for presentation

Treat: They push us toward high-rigor learning — Create and Evaluate.

Trick: Tossing this at them and assessing your ensemble in May is NOT rigorous, it’s a horror story.

To get there, you need both terminal and enabling objectives:

Terminal = the high-rigor destination
​Enabling = the scaffolded steps to reach it
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Here’s an example series that builds toward that Anchor Standard 5 goal:

Remember

Identify musical elements that influence performance quality (dynamics, articulation, phrasing)

Understand

Describe how specific musical choices on elements affect audience perception

Apply

Rehearse a selected passage, targeting a musical element and applying feedback

Analyze

Compare two performances of the same piece to differentiate interpretation of elements

Evaluate

Critique a recorded performance of yourself using a rubric to improve artistic communication

Create (Terminal Objective)

Develop and refine artistic work for presentation

“But You Said Learning Moves Up and Down…”

Jeez, give me a minute...

One day you start expanding dynamics (Identifying fortissimo and pianissimo), then you describe how to use extended dynamics, and rehearse and compare dynamic contrast. Can you Evaluate a recording against a rubric at that point?
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I mean… yes, but wouldn’t it be better if the rubric included more than 1 musical variable?

So you go back and repeat the low rigor scaffolding 2 more times with articulation and phrasing. Now, you reach Evaluate and actually have higher cognitive rigor because you’re applying and synthesizing a variety of elements that impact performance, what the standard is truly aiming for.

Strategies for Varying Cognitive Rigor

📍Plan high, Start Low

Start by outlining all of your large chunks first (terminal objectives, the big ones), then break them into scaffolded enabling objectives. It keeps your course outcomes validated and aligned, making granular planning way easier, proven, and trusted.

📊 Align Assessments with Rigor:

Assess to the rigor:

• Remember: basic multiple choice
• Analyze: free response or scenario evaluation
• Create: A robust rubric to evaluate a synthesized submission

🧾 Document Standards Early

List the standards each objective aligns to. It clarifies coverage, proves alignment to admin, and builds a matrix for sharing with others.

💭 A Final Thought

Scaffolding rigor is about building a clear, supported path for learners to grow and transfer knowledge and skills to their life beyond the classroom. (Ran out of formatting again)

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​ Updates From the Music Room 💀

As the marching season winds down, I’m beyond grateful for the incredible reactions to our show Sugar Skulls & Marigolds, from audiences, judges, and most importantly, our students. Watching them bring this story to life every week has been pure magic. The show will be available for other schools to perform very soon, so keep an eye out for details!

And speaking of the spooky season…

A new FREE release! 🎉

Crimson Buffet 🧛🏽‍♀️ — a string orchestra piece — is now live (preview it here and don’t skip the program notes/description). In short: four vampires plan a midnight banquet, chaos (and screams) ensue, and a featured quartet emerges to symbolize their retreat at dawn. Perfect for those who like a little drama with their bowing.

📸 Are you following me on Instagram yet? I have been teasing another FREE marching band show I’m finishing up.

Your Thoughts

What are some terminal objectives you have implemented before?

What were some strategies you used to ensure they could match the level of rigor?

Share your thoughts here.

Get Inspired,
Evan

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